Toyota Highlander w/ 3 Qs!

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ognerd

New member
Hello all! We are expecting our third this March. I have a 2015 Toyota Highlander. The third row just folds down as one, not like 2 or 3 separate pieces. I have captain's chairs in the middle.

In March I will have a 4 yr old, 2 yr old, and newborn. My 3-year-old is already front-facing due to extreme car sickness. My almost 2-year-old is rear-facing but 30 lbs and 100 percentile for height so we might turn her around after 2, I'm unsure (I know the stats on rear-facing and I don't need them again, thanks!).

I really don't want to buy a new car. All cars are astronomically priced right now and we got this car in May 2021 with under 50k miles on it. We have about 80k on there right now and pay ~350/month, which is the top of our budget. I also really like this car and the way it handles. It's an XLE so we have a DVD player, seat warmers, all the fancy features even though it's a 2015.

Anyway, my question is, how on earth do I arrange these car seats? I have been trying to teach my oldest to buckle and unbuckle herself. Someone suggested putting the infant seat in the third row and loading from the trunk but idk how that would even work? Another suggestion was to fold down/remove one of the captain's chairs in the middle and put both toddlers in the backseat and the newborn in the single captain's chair, but then I would have to climb in and out of the car to buckle the 2 yr old at a minimum every time? This doesn't seem feasible as my husband may be out to sea for birth/postpartum so I'll be alone after birth and I don't think I could be climbing in and out of cars.

Has anyone else been in this predicament and if so what did you do? Should we bite the bullet and start looking for something like a Toyota Sequoia or mini-van with a middle bench seat? I'd say we are about 50/50 on whether this is our last child or not.
 
@ognerd We drove an older model highlander (2006) for a few months after our third was born. The only way the seats fit in one row was switching to slim carseats for the 1 and 3 year olds (diono radians). The 3 year old was front facing in the middle, one year old was back facing on one side, and newborn was in a Chico infant seat on the other side. It was a very tight squeeze, but it worked until we bought a minivan!
 
@caringhusband What did you do for a stroller? I could make the car seat thing work for awhile but my stroller nor my wagon fit into the trunk. Only an umbrella stroller fits. I baby wear a lot but I don’t think I’ll be exclusively baby wearing with no stroller or wagon for the toddlers this summer.
 
@ognerd We have a mockingbird double stroller and that fit in the back of the car when it was fully disassembled (car seat adaptor and child seat removed. I think the trunk is maybe larger on older highlander models? That's a tough one though!
 
@ognerd I had a Highlander with a lot of children (4 of my own, plus 2 M-F). I know the car seat laws and recommendations. However, as soon as my kids qualified to move to the next level of car seat, they did. So 4 year olds go to a booster (Cosco is a nice narrow seat, or the inflatable hiccapop works well).

The booster seat kids sat in the back row, and the rear facing infant and forward facing toddler in the captain’s seats (middle row). This leaves a pathway for kids to walk in and out without removing car seats. The back row can fit 2 forward facing toddler car seats also.

You can make it work!

My eldest recently started driving, so I got a new Sequoia, and she now has my highlander. I love my new Sequoia, but it was really expensive, and it really averages 17 mpg. The gas mileage is not great for being a hybrid.
 
@ognerd I have a Toyota sienna van. I have a 4yo, 2.5yo, 1yo and another coming January. The issue I have come across is not all seats have a rear latch for forward facing car seats - something to look into.

Right now I have a captains seat taken out and climb in to buckle everyone. The 4th kid is really gonna mess up my current set up
 
@ktfw We have this van and four kids under five. We took the head rests off the captains chairs and the 4 and 3 year old sit in the back. This allows you to stand on the edge and reach back to buckle them up. It’s tough but not impossible. The newborn and 2 year old sit in the bucket seats.
 
@ktfw I have an odyssey so it may be different but do you mind explaining what you mean about the rear latch for forward facing? Our kids are currently all rear facing so I don’t know much about forward facing the car seat, but baby #3 will be here in January for us so we are planning to turn our oldest around near Christmas.
 
@lucsch When you correctly install a forward facing 5 point car seat you need a latch in the center/behind the car seat to attach a strap to. So with rear facing you only need two latch anchors or a seat belt to correctly install, with a forward facing you need 3 latch anchors or a seat belt and 1 latch anchor. In my sienna I can only put a forward facing car seat in the captains chairs or one seat in the third row because of the lower anchors. I hope that makes sense 😵‍💫
 
@ognerd Bucket seat in the back row without a base, just clipped in with the belt, for the newborn. 2yo might have to go front facing a bit sooner than you’d like to make space for the youngest to be rear facing when they out-grow the bucket seat. It can be done but you’ll need to make a few compromises (particularly on trunk space). Get a roof box for if you want to travel

Source: I have a highlander. It fits my 3, just about… But we did recently get a Sienna and it’s much easier
 
@vote4waifu I have an Uppababy stroller and a Keenz wagon, I’m nervous about either one fitting into the trunk with the third row 😵‍💫 do you LOVE your sienna or just like it? Lol
 
@ognerd So if you put the bucket seat in the back row without a base you can put it in the ‘1’ and have the ‘2’ folded down for cargo / strollers. It’ll get you through. I feel like you could make it work if you plan to stop at three but if you go to four while they all need car seats you’ll need a bigger car

I do love our Sienna :)
 
@ognerd I would put the four year old in the back. I believe the only place you can install FF is the middle seat because it’s the only one with the anchor.

Since safety doesn’t seem to be something you’re particularly concerned with, why not just play around with installing? You won’t know how you’ll like a set up until you try
 
@ognerd Wow, I could have written this! Our third will be born in March and by then, we will have a 4 year old, 2 year old, and a newborn. We are deciding to bite the bullet and buy a 3-row minivan or make it work in our sedan. Also not totally sure if this will be our last kid.

What are the car seat vs booster rules for your state/country? In California, there is no minimum height/weight requirement for transitioning from front-facing car seat to a booster, so even though our oldest hasn’t outgrown her forward facing car seat, we are thinking of installing a booster and teaching her to buckle/unbuckle herself. I feel conflicted because I know it would be safer to keep her in a 5 point harness, but shelling out money for a new or used minivan is also a hard pill to swallow.
 
@celoxisppm Oh, I actually have no idea. I didn’t think about putting her in a booster. She is really tall for her age but she’s also really light. Honestly I’m not even sure if her 5 point harness seat will fit in the third row. I have never subscribed to rear face until 5 thing anyways. A booster could definitely be an option, maybe I’ll ask her pediatrician their suggestion.

We promised ourselves the Highlander would be our next-20-years family car but now I’m like is this really a great idea 🫣 and even if we get a minivan will my issues be any different?! Most minivans have captain’s chairs anyways!
 
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